Playing piano for old mailman!

Here is my mail truck, parked as I always park it for my morning break:

I am taking the photo from the Mississippi River! (frozen solid)

I can just walk right out on the river, and admire the frozen vistas all around me... for 10 minutes, only!

Then, it's back to driving the mean streets of French Island, La Crosse!

I realize the above has nothing to do with playing piano, but hey, I like a nice photo regardless, don't you?

At any rate, I bought (after evaluating piano play by ear courses ad nauseum), and finally settled on one at Playpianotoday.com, by David Sprunger.

I've played piano, in a rudimentary, read-the-notes fashion for decades. I always wanted to play by ear, and never knew how, despite knowing quite a bit of theory and technique, via my studies in trombone, piano, and then voice.

This course, whilst deceptively simple, really has the goods, so to speak!

David is a natural teacher, and reveals the (simple) secrets that classically trained musicians are never taught! I could just skim through the early lessons, and then jump into the accompaniments to singing a few songs...

BUT, I see that, even if you NEVER played an instrument, and knew NOTHING about music, this course could make you into a play by ear pianist by itself!!

(And that is a tall order!)

The best part is that you are playing the background to real songs that are fun to sing and play from the start! It's all up to you:

David shows you how to play the chords, the rhythmic patterns you need to make the music come alive, and how to transpose music into any key, by using the relative notes and chords! (Not just by being spoon fed sheet music, and then memorizing, as is the rule).

Although I'm a relative newcomer to this course, and also to "playing by ear", I recommend it wholeheartedly, even at this early stage! I've already learned two songs; (IN ANY KEY, AS I STATED ABOVE!!), and that knowledge alone is worth the price of this course to me!

If my daughter profits from it to this extent as well, the course is worth way more than that- especially if we can harmonize, while one of us is accompanying on piano.

I also recommend hearandplay.com, but I am only using the free lessons online. Both seem good; but playpianotoday seemed even BETTER!

I will keep you posted on the future lessons- hey, I'll upload a tune or two!!

Your old mailman,
Jay